Seven days after being shut out 0-2 by CF Montreal, Columbus Crew return to ScottsMiracle-Gro Field looking to salvage something from a difficult stretch of form. Sitting 13th in the Eastern Conference with 26 points from 26 games, the Crew have won only seven matches all season and find themselves in a precarious mid-table spot with little margin for error. Standing across from them on Sunday is Inter Miami, third in the East on 46 points, bringing Lionel Messi and a squad that has drawn four of its last five league outings. The gap between these two clubs in the table tells most of the story going into Matchday 27.
What’s at stake
Inter Miami sit third in the Eastern Conference on 46 points, level with second-placed New England Revolution and 11 points behind leaders Nashville SC. Charlotte are fourth on 43 points, just three behind Miami, meaning Kily Gonzalez’s side cannot afford to keep dropping points if they want to secure a top-seven seed and the bye that comes with it in the MLS playoffs. Four consecutive league draws have done no lasting damage to their position, but another dropped result against a bottom-half opponent would invite more pressure from below.
For Columbus, the arithmetic is straightforward but uncomfortable. They are 13th on 26 points, the same tally as 14th-placed Atlanta United, and sit seven points outside the playoff places with New York City FC on 32 in 10th. A win does not launch the Crew into the top nine overnight, but it keeps a late push mathematically alive and stops the gap from widening further. Interim coach Laurent Courtois needs a positive home result to steady a group that has now lost three of its last five MLS matches.
How they got here
Columbus have gone W-L-L-W-L across their last five matches in all competitions: a 3-0 home win over Colorado Rapids, back-to-back road losses to DC United (1-2) and New York Red Bulls (0-1 at home), a US Open Cup win over Orlando City, and then the flat 0-2 defeat away at Montreal that wrapped up their Matchday 26. That sequence reflects a team capable of patches of good form but unable to sustain it over consecutive games. Inter Miami, meanwhile, have not won a league match since mid-August in MLS terms. Their last five across all competitions read D-W-D-D-D: the lone win came in the Campeones Cup against Cruz Azul (2-0 at home), sandwiched between draws against Atlanta, Chicago, Nashville and San Diego. The 2-2 at home to San Diego last weekend, a side Miami would be expected to beat, reinforced a sense of stagnation even as their points tally keeps them comfortable in third.
In the Eastern Conference table, Miami are tied on 46 points with New England Revolution in second, though Nashville SC are well clear at the top on 57. Columbus, on 26 points, are six points adrift of the playoff cutoff at 10th place (New York City FC, 32 points). The top nine in the Eastern Conference qualify for the playoffs, and the Crew have ground to make up.
Key battle to watch
The central question is whether Columbus can press high enough and consistently enough to disrupt Inter Miami’s rhythm before Messi, Rodrigo De Paul and Gonzalo Berterame can link up in the final third. Messi leads the MLS scoring charts with 20 goals this season, and Miami’s attack is built around giving him space to operate between the lines. Columbus’s midfield, featuring Andre Gomes and Brais Mendez among others, will need to stay compact and limit those pockets. If the Crew sit too deep, Miami will pick them apart on the counter; if they press and leave space in behind, Messi and the supporting runners will punish them. Getting that balance right under Courtois, who is still feeling his way in the interim role, is the defining tactical problem of this fixture.
Key Stats
Match Context
Standings
Head To Head
Our Prediction
Inter Miami’s struggles to win in MLS recently are real, but the head-to-head record against Columbus is overwhelmingly in their favor, and Messi’s 20-goal season gives them a match-winner no other side in this fixture can match. Columbus showed some fight in their last home outing and will look to make ScottsMiracle-Gro Field difficult, but a Miami side that needs to stay ahead of Charlotte should find enough to take something from this trip. Expect a tight first half, with Miami’s individual quality eventually tilting the result their way.
Columbus Crew
Inter Miami
Lionel Messi